Holder for hand tools



May 23, W50 M. GALEN HOLDER FOR HAND TOOLS Filed July 30, 1948 ATTORNEY.

Patented May 23, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOLDER FOR HAND TOOLS Max Galen, Linden, N. J. Application July 30, 1948, Serial No. 41,681

My invention relates to holders i'or hand tools and it has an object to provide an improved and simplified form of holder which readily may be attached to the side of the overalls or similar garments of pap-erhangers and other craftsmen for receiving and holding small hand tools, such for example, as a pair of shears.

Frequently, while working, a craftsman finds it necessary to tree his hands of such tools so that he may use his hands for other purposes. Overalls, as commonly constructed, are provided with leg pockets into which tools may be placed. Considerable difioulty, however, has been experienced in inserting tools, such as shears, endwise into the leg pockets without looking downwardly at the pocket and without catching the points of the shears in the overall material.

Attempts heretofore have been made to overcome this difficulty and a number of devices have been proposed for receiving and holding shears and other tools by a sidewise movement thereof along the side of the leg of the user, instead of by insertin them into the leg pockets by endwise movement of the tools. However, insofar as I am aware, no entirely satisfactory and commercially practicable construction for this purpose has heretofore been provided.

My invention has for an object to provide an improved form of holder for hand tools which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and which may be quickly and easily attached to the leg of a craftsmans overalls.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved holder for tools in which the major portion of the device may be located in the leg pocket of a craftsmans overalls and only that portion of the device which actually engages the tool will be located exteriorly of the pocket.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved holder for tools which will be stable in use and which will not tend to move beside or away from the leg of the user by reason of the weight of the tool held thereby.

A further object of my invention is to provide simple and eihcient means for securing the major portion of the improved tool holder in an overall pocket and for preventing relative movement between the holder and the pocket.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved tool holder having all the advantages above described and of which the major portion may be made from a sheet metal stamping by a minimum of forming operations.

With the above and other objects in view, as

3 Claims. (01. Ze -3) will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations, and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of re invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the drawings:

1 is a side elevation of my improved tool holder showing it associated with the leg pocket of a pair of overalls and illustrating, in dotted lines, a pair of shears held therein.

2 is an enlarged plan view showing, in dotted lines, a pair of shears as being moved edgewise into the holder and a spring-pressed retaining member as being forced inwardly by the shears.

Fig; 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the improved holder resting upon the upper edge of the pocket.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line :l-d of Fig. 1, showing themeans for securing the holder to the pocket material.

Fig. 5 is a face view of the blank of sheet metal from which the major portion of the holder is made by simple bending operations.

Referring more specifically to thedrawings,

and particularly to Figs. 1 to 4, the improved tool holder is shown as applied to the leg portion of a pair of overalls of which the base material is designated as M and the leg pocket thereon as Pl The holder comprises a substantially triangular main frame I made of light weight sheet metal, curved, as indicated in Fig. 2 to substantially conform to the leg of the user. The width and shape of the frame l is such that when inserted in the pocket P the forward edge 2 thereof will fit into and along one vertical edge of the pocket While the upper left corner 3 thereof bears against the opposite vertical edge of the pocket. Thus the frame is securely held against edgewise movement in the pocket.

Referring now to Fig. 5, it will be seen that'theblank B which provides the main frame I also has an upper transverse portion C which, as indicated by dot-dash lines a, b and 0, comprises integrally formed portions G, H, and I. The blank is also formed with a pair of spaced holes 4 and i later to be referred to. The blank B is adapted to be folded or bent first substantially along the line 0 to provide an overhanging hooklike portion 5 which is adapted to hang upon the upper edge of the pocket P as indicated in Fig. 3.

After this initial fold has been made, the blank B is further folded or bent substantially along the line a to provide a forwardly and outwardly curved arm 6. The arm 5 is spaced from the hook-like portion 5 to provide a cavity or throat '1 adapted to receive and hold the blades of a pair of shears S, as hereinafter will be described.

The portion I of the blank is adapted to be folded or rolled to form spaced hinge elements 8 opposite the arm 6, between which i mounted, on a hinge pin 9, one end of a retaining member Hi. This member extends rearwardly into the space between the portions 5 and 6, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2, and is biased outwardly into contact with the portion 6 by a coil spring H surrounding the pin 9 and having offset legs H and I l engaging, respectively, the portion 5 and the member, ID.

Between the holes 4 and 4 the metal of the blank is pressed inwardly as indicated at Hi. This forms a vertical channel between the holes 4 and 4* into which the material of the pocket may be pressed, as indicated at a: in Fig. 4. Above the hole 4 and below the hole 4 the metal is pressed outwardly, as indicated at 13 and i l, to form, on the inner face of the frame, spaced channel 4 and 4 A fastening pin p, shown detached in Fig. 1 and in operative position in Figs. 2 and 4, is pushed downwardly through the channel 4, hole 4, through the adjacent pocket material, along the outside face of the pocket and finally back through the pocket material and through the hole 4*. The pointed end of the pin p is housed in the channel A to protect it and to prevent accidental contact therewith by the craftsman. When the major portion 1 of the holder is placed in the pocket and secured therein by the pin 12, the holder is securely held against being lifted out of the pocket and also against tipping edgewise in the pocket.

In use, the main frame i of the holder is inserted into the pocket P with the curved portion adjacent the line 0 resting upon the top edge of the pocket and withonly the portions 5 and 5 and the retaining member It, with its supporting pin and spring, outside the pocket. The pin is then inserted as above described to secure the frame in the pocket. When the craftsman wishes to place his shears in the holder, he merely wipes them edgewlse beside his leg from front to rear. Because of the fact that the arm 6 is spaced outwardly from the pocket and additionally has its free end curved outwardly as at 6 it is a simple matter for the craftsman to pass the blades of his shears behind the arm 6 and into the throat I. In this passage of the blades into the throat the blades press the spring-pressed retaining member ll] inwardly, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, in opposition to the spring H. After the blades have been received in the throat I, the user releases the shears and they gravitate to the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 with the handles 1 and t for the fingers and thumb resting, respectively, on the downwardly and outwardly curved portion 6' of the member 6 and against the inner face of the retaining member 10.

To remove the shears from the holder, the user merely withdraws them endwise vertically from the holder.

While the invention is shown and described as tion extending downwardly on the outside of the'. pocket and having formed integrally therewith ai laterally spaced, outwardly flared and forwardly extending arm affording behind it a tool-receiv-' ing throat into which a, tool may be inserted by a rearward horizontal movement of the tool; and a spring-actuated retaining member hinged to said frame member opposite aid arm and extending outwardly and rearwardly and normally bearing against the inner face of said arm to prevent removal of the tool by a forward horizontal movement of the tool.

2. A tool holder comprising a sheet metal frame member generally polygonal in shape and adapted to be fitted into the leg pocket of a garment, said frame member having n integrally formed first portion overlying the edge of the pocket and contacting the outer face of the pocket and a second portion formed integrally with said first portion and spaced laterally therefrom to provide a forwardly and outwardly extending arm spaced from the first portion and affording a tool-receiving aperture into which a tool may be inserted by a horizontal edgewise movement of the tool; a hinge portion formed on said frame member opposite said second portion; and a spring actuated retaining arm mounted on said hinge portion and extending outwardly and rearwardly and bearing against the inner face of said second portion to prevent removal of the tool from said aperture by horizontal movement of the tool.

3. A tool holder comprising a sheet metal frame having at its upper edge a turned over portion affording a hook-like supporting member and an outwardly curved arm formed integrally with said supporting member and forming therewith a laterally open tool-receiving throat; hinge members formed on an edge of said supporting member opposite said arm; and a spring pressed tool-retaining arm pivoted to said hinge members and extending outwardly and rearwardly into said throat and bearing against the inner face of said arm.

MAX GALEN.

REFERENCES CETED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 776,684 Pilcher Dec. 6, 1904 845,743 Bindner Mar. 5, 190'? 1,076,117 Henderson Oct. 21, 1913 1,264,809 Johnson Apr. 30, 1918 1,354,926 Thomas Oct. 5, 1920 

